Symphony.

So it's the latest craze and I figured this could be a really convenient interface enhancement that could be very beneficial.

Here's an article regarding grid layout and the many examples that use grid layouts: http://www.webdesignerwall.com/trends/grid-and-column-designs/

I'll try explain as best that I can, but bare with me.

Say that you add a new section and you're adding items for that section. Currently one would make an input item and place it either in the main content or the sidebar. What if there was a box with a protoype of the section's layout? Say you have a defined grid size of 5px that represents 50px (for instance). One would then select the particular grid(s) to place the particular item. This can be particular useful if you have two input items and you want to split the first 50px row into two 400px (if the max width is 800px) and the left contains the first and the right the second.

Consequently there would no longer be a need to set a sidebar or main content section and it would be up to the developer to set the particular place and size for the particular item. Alternatively, one could keep the main content and sidebar and have a differentiable section between the two and one could default to the current layout schema.

If it's not very clear I can elaborate on the idea. If there's a lack of understanding on the feasibility, I have background on interface design and it would be a matter of toying with the JS API that the backend has. I'm still unfamiliar with the API but with my previous work with MooTools, I claim that this is fairly easy to implement.

Thanks for the audience. Olmo

Well, it wouldn't just be grid placement; different field types would take up different numbers of grid squares. Should this be customisable, allowing the user specify how wide or tall fields are? How does the JS determine minimal sizes considering that the admin is liquid and can be scaled so that, for example, checkbox label text would overflow its bounds? Then how do they all fit together? Does Symphony offer a mini-game of Tetris to the user? Or should it be smart enough to solve the game on its own, dynamically, every time the page is resized?

I have a feeling this would require a lot more effort, planning and code than you seem to imply.

That Symphony's admin includes publish forms at all should be seen as a bonus; if you want more control over layout or form widgets, just build a front-end form using a section post event.

Yeah certainly I'm not being very elaborate. Cells can be % (em) based (http://nickcowie.com/other/golden_section.html) and selectable and will always default to a rectangle shape: if I select cells 0 to 3 then to click on cell 1,2 then the selected 0 to 3 cells would reflect 0 to 2 and also 1 to 2 (effectively a square).

Again I'm not arguing against current admin design, I'm just saying an enhancement for the placement could be useful.

It would definitely be a great extension if anyone feels up to the challenge, but I don't see this as a necessary part of the core. S2 will be open source so you can do whatever you like with it, but I personally don't think I'd be capable of making an adequate interface that caters to all sorts of possible layout needs, plus I also see this sort of complexity as a hinderance for new users gettings started or building simple sections (I'm sure you've heard of the choice vs happiness tradeoff). Front-end forms are the most flexible and diplomatic solution to advanced layout requirements.

I went ahead and changed the topic from suggestion to an idea since it's more about suggesting an idea that could be implemented than suggesting a necessary change.

Making the idea an extension is a legitimate suggestion as well.

I also try to understand what you guys want in the core and don't want in the core so bare with me as I figure out your philosophies.

There is tradeoffs, but as I alluded to: one could ignore the advanced placement and just use the main section or sidebar.

I'm still confused by the front-end forms since this is regarding to the actual section item layout. I.e. /symphony/publish/my-section/

Ok sorry for not being clearer. By "front-end forms", I mean a form on your front-end that uses a section saving event. This form can be used instead of its alternative in the admin for posting or editing, and can be designed with whatever layout and form widgets the developer desires. (Take for example the comments form in Allen's "Spectrum" workspace; the same thing could be done for any section.)

And I'm not saying you shouldn't have suggested this idea (it's a good one), I'm just giving my thoughts about what problems it will need to overcome. We did in fact spend quite a while thinking about how to make the admin's form layout more flexible, but in the end decided that it was too much trouble.

It might also be worth reading this post to get an understanding of our philosphies.

Yes I've read that before and I relied on Lewis' reply for a basis for this.

Thanks for the clarification on the forms. I get it now. ;)